WY Elk unit 56 thoughts

[Chad Orde]

Need to know if anyone has any advise on elk hunting unit56 in WY. I have 10 points and thinking about having a go at it this year. Never been there but have hunted the Bob so I'm used to grizzlies already. Think bow season sept 8-18?
Thanks

[Missouri Sherpa]

Non residents have to stay out of any wilderness area unless accompanied by a resident guide.  Most of the forested area in 56 appears to be wilderness.

[Travisc406]

Where is 56 I am grew up in Wyoming but don't know the districts. I do know area 38 is probably the top area in the state so if you have that many points I would look into it or the Laramie peak area. Friend of mine hunted Laramie peak last year and said elk were like cattle there.

[Whip]

If I'm looking at it correctly 56 has a type 9 (archery only) tag that didn't require any points to draw last year.  
Although grizzlies and wolves may not be a worry for you, they certainly are for the elk.  I'm thinking you'd find better hunting elsewhere.

[tracker12]

Consider Unit 38.  I drew that tag last year with 9 points and it was an awesome hunt.  I have hunted both Colorado and Utah on Limited Entry tags and the WY was as good a both.

[Crittergetter]

I grew up in Sheridan and have family still there. My brother is an elk junkie!! 38 is a good archery hunt but it's well known and can be a hard tag to get sometimes. With 10 points your odds are pretty good.

[Crittergetter]

On the game and fish website there is a list of areas stating the draw odds with preference points and will also have success odds based on harvest records

[centaur]

10 points could also give you a chance at area 22; rugged country, good population of elk, and some big bulls. Laramie Peak (area 19) and 38 also are really good if you can draw them.
Travis, 56 is south of the North Fork west of Cody; mostly wilderness.

[Travisc406]

Oh gotcha, gotta think the elk population has been affected by wolves. I grew up in Sheridan, while I was growing up 38 was pretty easy to draw and my dad killed a few there. By the time I was of age we had migrated to the Gros Ventre Wilderness. The best memories of my life were there.

[Soonerlongbow]

There's a non-resident guide requirement?

[Dave Pagel]

Sooner,

Only for the Wilderness areas.  Still a pain in the butt as I used to live out there as did my brother and now we can't hunt parts of the state that we used to due to that requirement.

D.P.

[Chad Orde]

Thanks for the input guys this is a tough call to make to say the least. You all are making 38 sound great and with 6 points its 86% draw odds so I should be a shoe in. I really like the looks of 62 but they have no archery season! Whats up with that???

 Its funny I have elk hunted before but never got one. Now I have close to max points and you read all the stats on the web and it gets me all greedy. I decided to try and just pick the area with the coolest terrain. It will be a solo hunt so I probably shouldn't go to crazy as even on flat ground a elk is a mountain of work for one cowboy.

[Whip]

38 is a great unit - I hunted it about 5 years ago.  Had an excellent hunt even though I didn't kill a bull.  

I'll throw out another factor to think about four you.  38 (and a few other units) have type 9 archery only tags.  Many other good units only have type 1 or 2 (any weapon tags).  In those units with no type 9 tags you apply right along side the gun hunters but can hunt with a bow during the archery season dates. If a unit had type 9 tags available you must have that type of tag to hunt with a bow.

People that draw a type 9 tag obviously are serious bowhunters and you can bet they will be there during a good portion of the season.  In a unit with only type 1 or 2 tags, hunters might try with the bow for a bit, but for a good majority of them the rifle season is their main interest.  

What this all means is that you might find that a unit with type 9 tags has higher hunting pressure during archery season than a unit that has only type 1 or 2. That is the theory anyway.  

One thing I can say - 38 is a beautiful unit and I'd love to have another chance to hunt it!  But when I have enough points to consider burning again I'll be doing some research into other units as well.

[lt-m-grow]

My crew is beginning to think about WY too.  We have 7-8 points.  SO I really appreciate the conversation here on this.

This site has been very helpful too as you poke around:  http://www.toprut.com/hunt/wyoming-elk/

[Travisc406]

Agree with Whip. Check out wagonbox in that area. It is really good hunting. I can't imagine you wouldn't at least have a few oppurtunities as well. You can drive a two wheel drive car up to it as well and it is beautiful country.

[Crittergetter]

So...... what did you decide?

[Tedd]

How many apply for WY elk using the gain a point option for unsuccessful draw? I don't have enough points for a sure thing for the area I want to hunt. Some % of tags are in a lottery if I understand correctly? Very low draw rates but someone has to get drawn.
Tedd

[Crittergetter]

Always always always get your point!!! If not then you always going to be playing the odds! At some point they will pay off!!

[Tedd]

I guess what I should have asked was how many of you apply for WY elk without the full number of preference points? Putting your name in the hat for the few tags that go to lottery. Am I right that 25% of the tags go to a lottery system?

Tedd

[snag]

They are expecting a bigger than usual winter kill this year. Something to consider.